


Between Floors

by scribblenubbin



Category: Sanctuary (TV), Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-22
Updated: 2012-09-22
Packaged: 2017-11-14 19:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/518983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribblenubbin/pseuds/scribblenubbin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Helen and Sam are both trying to get to where they need to be, but as is always the way the lift breaks down</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between Floors

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't have written this without the wonderful inspiration given to me by Amanda Tapping and Thomasina Gibson at AT4. Those two were AWESOME on stage doing the stuck in a lift skit.

When the doors closed, Dr Helen Magnus looked around her. The lift was one of those irritatingly tiny boxes that was completely silver the whole way round and felt more like a metal coffin than anything else. Helen noticed the lack of any décor and the wooden floor and the buttons on the wall were so worn that the numbers barely stood out. At first she thought she was alone, but as her eyes took in the cramped space she discovered that she was not alone, there was another woman there, about her height. She quickly scanned over the stranger, noticing the crisp Air Force uniform. Helen thought it suited her, although she sensed that it belied the real person underneath. The other woman was blond with blue eyes, not unlike Helen's eyes. She was rocking backwards and forwards on the balls of her feet in what appeared to be agitated excitement, her heels making a sharp clicking noise each time they hit the floor. It wasn't as bothersome as it could have been, although the older woman hoped that their lift journey was short. Too much of it and Helen would lose patience. Ever the gentlewoman, Helen smiled softly at her and then pressed the button for the floor she needed.  
  
The blond slowly looked up, scanning the other woman instead of the floor. She was dressed in an elegant black skirt, white shirt and black leather jacket. Her long brown hair was caressing her shoulders and she looked truly remarkable. Almost as if she didn't belong in this time period. There was an air about the brunette that suggested a bygone time, perhaps the Victorian era. The way she stood, almost ramrod straight, the slight stiffening of her features. But the other woman only took up a moment of her energy as her eyes swept over her. Right now she was in a hurry and this lift journey was taking far too long.  
  
Helen hated the small lifts present in most public buildings. They were tiny and cramped but a necessary evil when visiting places which had so many floors. She had lost count at the amount of times they had been filled with people who didn't understand the idea of personal hygiene or personal space. There had also been the odd occasion when she had been in one like this one, designed for perhaps eight people that others had tried to cram in and the lack of breathable oxygen had made her feel dizzy. Why he had chosen the top of this particular building for the meeting place was beyond her. But then she had learned a long time ago that Air Force types didn't always make decisions that made sense to her. She had just had to accept that this time the meeting would not be on her own turf. It didn't bother her per se, but Helen didn't particularly like military buildings, they reminded her of her battles with the Cabal, and most recently an event that had changed her life and the lives of her family at the Sanctuary forever. She shuddered as she tried to focus on anything else other than the bad memory that threatened to surface. In typical Magnus style she started to mentally run over the briefing notes for the meeting she was headed to.  
  
It was as they approached the penultimate floor that was their mutual destination that the lift juddered and stopped suddenly, both women were jostled, losing their footing slightly. Looking around her, the blond woman caught her bearings. This wasn't what she had planned. Maybe it would start again in a second. The silence that now surrounded them was deafening, the rhythmic sound of the lift moving up on its pulley system no longer provided an ambient background. All her training, all her years in the Air Force hadn't prepared her for being stuck in a lift. She counted the seconds in her head as they passed by. After what seemed like the longest minute on Earth she realised that they weren't going to be moving at any time soon. As she reached over for the alarm button, she noticed that the brunette was pressing it. The unenthusiastic female voice of the lift service operator answered relatively quickly and informed them that there was a power outage in the lift generator and normal service would be resumed as soon as possible.  
  
Helen sighed and leaned back against the cold metal wall of the lift. She hated technology sometimes. Especially the sort that wasn't well maintained. That was one thing she always insisted on when it came to technology within the Sanctuary, it had to be well maintained and luckily she had the staff that could make it happen. When things failed it could be a matter of life and death. Helen knew from experience they'd be there a while. And that meant one of two things, either she'd have to ignore the blond or she'd have to talk to her. And as nice as silence could be, Helen didn't want it to be uncomfortable.  
  
“I'm Helen.” She offered as a start to the conversation. “Dr Helen Magnus.”  
  
“Colonel Sam Carter. Are you here for the briefing with General O'Neill?” The blond replied. Sam silently took in the smooth English accent with a curious interest. It had a lilt of Canadian softly creeping in and again reminded the Colonel of a bygone era.  
  
“I am.” Helen smiled, glad they had a common purpose.   
  
“So you must be the alien life form expert that he was insistent on having with us.” Sam smiled back.  
  
“I'm a crypto-zoologist and xenobiologist, actually.” Helen clarified. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How many times had she told him what her exact title was? One more probably wouldn't hurt.  
  
“And as General O'Neill says, I'm the Air Force Geek.” Sam joked. “Or was it brain box?”  
  
“Ah, so you're the one I'm going to be working with closely on this new discovery.” It was a statement, nothing more.  
  
“And the one who will be driving you nuts by the end of it.” Sam added still joking. Helen raised her eyebrow. “Guess we may as well get to know each other seeing as we could be here a while.”  
  
“What would you like to know?” Helen asked, surprised at her own willingness to share with this woman.  
  
“Why don't we start with family?” Sam asked. “I lost my mom a long time ago; Dad is kinda... well indisposed, although I do see him sometimes. My brother and his wife live a fair distance from me with their kids, who call me their favourite aunt but I try not to point out I'm their only aunt.”  
  
“I'm sorry to hear about your mother.” Helen offered. “I never knew mine. My father is around but it's difficult to see him. I had a daughter once,” She bit her lip and looked at Sam again. “you remind me of her somewhat.”  
  
“I'm sorry for your loss.” Sam offered, not wanting to probe into Helen's grief. She knew from her own experience how painful that could be.  
  
Helen couldn't believe just how much Sam reminded her of Ashley. The same eyes, with the same twinkle, the blond hair, that gentle smile. She stared off into space for a moment, trying not to think of Ashley. When she allowed her daughter to pray on her mind, Helen would find herself searching for her in crowds, catching glimpses of her in reflective surfaces and she couldn't keep doing that if she wanted to continue her work and move on. The child Helen had longed for was only with her in memory now. She couldn't understand why she'd opened up so much to this other woman but perhaps it was part of the healing process. If only Will could see the progress she was starting to make, right here, right now.  
  
“You know, you look amazing in those clothes.” Sam said, trying to lighten the mood. In truth she was slightly jealous of the taste the other woman had. She could barely be older than Sam and yet her sense of style was that much more mature and ladylike.  
  
“Thank you.” Helen answered, coming back to Earth. “I tend to think that it's best to dress in sensible colours. Although saying that, your dress uniform definitely suits you.”  
  
“I prefer my combats.” Sam answered honestly. “These heels kill. I don't know how you do it. Although they do have the added advantage of elongating my legs and making a certain someone notice them a lot more.”  
  
“So, you've got a special someone in your life?” Helen asked, enjoying the rare chance to have some girl talk.  
  
Sam nodded, not wanting to admit it was General O'Neill, even though technically now, it was allowed. He was no longer her Commanding Officer. The mere thought of him was enough to create a smile on her soft lips. Her mind temporarily drifted back to the previous night and the way he'd spoiled her rotten in order to celebrate their second anniversary. She hadn't been allowed to lift a finger. Ordinarily that would annoy her but last night was so special and perfect that she couldn't complain.  
  
“His name's Jack.” She offered coming back to the lift and her waiting audience.  
  
“How strange.” Helen looked at her. “The special man in my life is also called Jack.”  
  
Sam nearly choked. “Really? What's he like?”  
  
“Tall, bald, mysterious.” Helen answered, trying to push the thoughts of him and the way he brutally attacked and killed those poor girls out of her mind. “He likes tearing into things whole heartedly.”  
  
“Mine's tall and handsome, going grey, distinguished and loves fishing.” Sam smiled.   
  
“I can't imagine my Jack fishing.” Helen laughed softly.  
  
“We have an odd pair of men.” Sam answered. “Jack the Fisher and Jack the.... Ripper.” She laughed gently.  
  
Helen cringed internally but laughed with Sam. She didn't want her acquaintance to know just how right she was. He had indeed been called that at one point and history still saw him that way. What they didn't know was that it had been due to his abnormality consuming him. John had gone from being the most mild mannered and wonderful man to a monster and as much as she had tried to help him she couldn't. He had been so happy the night he proposed, but little did Helen suspect that he was the one who would later kill that poor prostitute in front of her eyes. John had become a madman and Helen had been thrown into a long internal battle. He was back in her life now and she was still finding it hard to reconcile the John she had been prepared to marry with what he had become and who he was now.  
  
“So... what do you think, should we introduce them and see how alike they are?” Sam asked, interrupting Helen's thought pattern.  
  
“My Jack is away with work at the moment.” She answered.  _Off on some misplaced paternal vengeance hunt for the woman that killed our daughter. Even if I did tell him that I didn't want her dead. A life for a life is not something I agree with. No matter how tempting it is._  
  
“And mine hates the limelight.” Sam answered. “He prefers to be working than be praised for it. He can be a little clueless on scientific matters, but he's brainier than he lets on.”  
  
“Wait...” Helen was putting two and two together rapidly. “General O'Neill is your Jack?”  
  
Sam went scarlet. She hadn't thought she had given it away. Perhaps Helen was just as astute as her reputation said she was. Sam had tried to look into the history of the woman she was working with but even with her high security clearance there had been some obstacles she couldn't bypass. What she had learned however was that Helen Magnus was known for her breakthroughs on the medicinal front and her powers of observation.  
  
“Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.” Helen smiled softly. “Although if he is no longer your Commanding Officer it shouldn't be an issue.”  
  
“Thank you.” Sam answered softly. “And technically it isn't, but it could bring into question the work that we have done together on the Stargate program, and I won't put that in jeopardy, and neither will he.”  
  
“I understand completely.” Helen replied gently, her soft look conveying her sincerity.  
  
It was at that moment that the lift juddered and began to move again. Both women smiled at each other, grateful for the return of power and each one wondering if this was to be the start of a new friendship or if they had maybe opened up a little too much. As the lift doors opened and General O'Neill greeted them, Helen gave him an appraising look. She smiled softly and stepped out ahead of Sam.  
  
“General O'Neill, what a pleasure to finally meet in person. Colonel Carter here has just informed me that she is to be my Air Force partner on this project.” There was no hint of the conversation that she and Sam had had previously and for that Sam was extremely grateful.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted under 'halfbloodme' on LiveJournal


End file.
